Welcome to Eng 1108--Fantasy and Myth LCOM! I
am glad to be working with you in this introduction to college writing.
This particular version is paired with Eng 2235--Mythic Stories. And in
this section of 1108, you'll be choosing among some of the most
outstanding recent fantasy books to read and then write about. Check
out all three columns on this page to get started; then read or thoroughly
skim the other pages on the yellow bar above. If you have
questions, let me know! You can always contact me by clicking on "Contact
Richard" in the upper-right corner of each of these web pages.

How does this website work?

This website has about a dozen web pages.
The main ones are above--just click on what you want.

This middle column is different on each
page. It always has the primary text or content to read.

The left column always is exactly the same.
It lists the main pages again, and it also has other especially
important pages and links.

The right column is different on each page.
It has useful links and also helpful tips for taking the course.

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What does Eng 1108 involve?

As you may know, this course is the first
college-level writing course - sometimes called "College Comp." This
course provides you with the basics of writing college essays and gives you
a beginning introduction to research skills. I plan to work you hard,
but I also try to make class fun and the assignments interesting. If
you are willing to work hard, I can turn you into a much better writer.
So, please get ready for a hard but often interesting and sometimes fun ride
on the roller coaster of writing. By the time you are done - if you
stick with the course and earn at least a "C" - you will be able to say that
you have learned a lot and made all of the rest of your college writing
easier. For example, IHCC Professor Nick Nownes was talking with a
former student of his who had gone on to a degree at the University of
Minnesota. According to Nick, the student "just
finished a political science degree, and he was saying that his instructors
would periodically drop big research papers on him--'I need eight to ten
pages!'--sometimes a quarter of the way or even later in the semester, more
or less without instructions,...just a topic and a due date. (Sometimes
the papers would be on the syllabus, and sometimes they wouldn't.)."
Nick's student was very glad that Nick--and Inver Hills' research writing
courses--had prepared him well.

I, myself, have been teaching courses like this one for over twenty-five years, and I
still very much enjoy teaching them. In fact, composition happens to be my
special field of English. I have published several articles in
academic journals and have made two or three dozen conference presentations
about the teaching of writing. I also have had over 100
publications of popular-magazine articles and fiction stories,
scholarly essays, photographs, and even a few poems in magazines and
journals. (Click here for my resume or a sample fiction story.)
As you can guess, I really love writing--and I love teaching writing--and
working with writing students--too. My reputation as an instructor is
that I'm "tough but fair." If you're willing to work hard for me, I
can promise you that you will learn significant new writing skills.

In addition, this section of Eng 1108 is taught in
conjunction with Eng 2235, "Mythic Stories": the two courses together form a
"Learning Community" of the same students taking both courses at the same time.
In a Learning Community, the professors work together to design some parts of
the courses to be done together, and other parts of the courses so each course
helps the other course. I'd like to make this Eng 1108 course not only interesting and
helpful to you, but also enjoyable -- and to make it possible for you to do well
not just in this course, but also in Eng 2235.

If you ever have any questions, just ask me before or after class, email me,
come to my office, or call me at home. I look forward to working with
you!

Please don't email me at my school email, as I only check it once or
twice a week. Instead, email me at my professional email address,
which I check almost every day: "richard at jewell dot net."
However, first convert it to regular email form: e.g., sue@smith.net. (Why
am I printing it this way? There are software programs called
"spiders" that automatically find email addresses on Web sites and sell them
to junk-email advertisers. I'm already receiving several hundred junk emails
per week--many of them, but not all, blocked. Printing my email this way on
a Web page helps me avoid more junk email.

Disabilities

IHCC faculty and staff are glad to meet or
exceed the legal requirements for helping people with disabilities. You can
see a description of IHCC's disabilities services by clicking here on
Disabilities Services Info. In addition, my classes have no tests, so no
accomodations for testing are needed. If you have any other questions,
please let me know. Also, I'd like you to know that any disability you
report to any faculty member will not be shared in any way with students.

There is
a lot of information in this Web site. It's purpose is not to kill you
off, but rather to just give you more ways to find out what to do.
Most people get used to kusing this web site and "Course Packet" after the
first few weeks, and then it makes the course seem much more accessible.

(2) The
Early Alert Program

The Early Alert Program is a
system in which professors are asked to fill out a form two or three
times in the first half of the semester, letting Advisors and Counselors
know whether you are missing classes or flunking the class. If you
are, then your Advisor or Counselor will get in touch with you to let you
know you need to do better in order to pass the course. You may then ask
your professor, Advisor, or Counselor what you need to do to succeed in
passing the class.

(Note that attendance at least
once every two weeks or its equivalent is required, or a professor can flunk
you for nonattendance.)

(3)
Disabilities Access:

I would like to make sure that all the materials, discussions
and activities that are part of the course are accessible to you. If you
would like to request accommodations or other services, please contact me as
soon as possible. It is also possible to contact the Disability Services
Office, L-224; phone, 651/450-3628. You may also contact it through the
Minnesota Relay Service at 1-800-627-3529.